WTI looks to monthly high above $43.00 as Houthis attack Saudi Aramco

• WTI refreshes the intraday high during the latest recovery moves from $42.33.
• Yemen’s Houthis claim to fire missiles at Saudi Aramco in Jeddah.
• Trading sentiment remains positive amid vaccine hopes, hints of receding lockdowns in the UK, Australia and France.
• Preliminary readings of November’s PMIs can offer immediate direction.

WTI takes the bids near $42.62, up 0.43% intraday, while heading into Monday’s European session. The energy benchmark recently gained after Reuters passed headlines suggesting an attack over Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil producer. Earlier in Asia, a barrel of black gold inched closer to $43.00, while refreshing a three-day high, as optimism concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and treatments gained momentum.

Reuters quote Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, while confirming Yemen’s Iran-aligned group’s Quds-2 type winged missile attack in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah. However, Saudi officials couldn’t be traced for confirmation even as Houthis warned: “operations will continue”.

Elsewhere, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is up for getting UK approval while Regenereon’s antibody treatment has already got a green signal from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It should also be noted that the UK and France recently hinted, as per The Telegraph, to ease the virus-led activity restrictions ahead of Christmas. Additionally supporting the risks could be the further easing of lockdown in Australian states.

Against this backdrop, S&P 500 Futures print 0.25% gains whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields remain dismal as Japanese markets are off due to the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Given the scheduled release of initial activity numbers for November, oil buyers are likely to catch a breather amid fears of a pullback in major PMIs due to the virus resurgence. However, chatters concerning the extension of the OPEC+ production cut can keep the black gold positive amid vaccine hopes.

Technical analysis

A clear break above the monthly high of $43.30 becomes necessary for the bulls to challenge February’s low near $43.95. Meanwhile, a downside break of the previous resistance line from November 11, at $42.30 now, can trigger fresh declines.